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Qi Li

Publications and source records attributed to Qi Li.

At least 523 records · Page 29Linked to original sources
arXiv2015

Anisotropic magnetotransport of electron gases at SrTiO3 (111) and (110) surfaces with high mobility

Electron gases at the surfaces of (001), (110), and (111) oriented SrTiO3 (STO) have been created using Ar+-irradiation with fully metallic behavior and low-temperature-mobility as large as 5500 cm2V-1s-1, 1300 cm2V-1s-1 and 8600 cm2V-1s-1 for (001)-, (110)-, and (111)-surfaces, respectively. The in-plane anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) have been studied for the samples with the current along different crystal axis directions to subtract the Lorentz Force effect. The AMR shows features which coincide with the fixed orientations to the crystalline axes, with 4-fold, 2-fold and nearly-6-fold symmetries for (001)-, (110) and (111)-surfaces, respectively, independent of the current directions. These features are possibly caused by the polarization of spin orbit texture of the 2D Fermi surfaces. In addition, a 6-fold to 2-fold symmetry breaking for (111)-surfaces is observed. Our results demonstrate the effect of symmetry of two-dimensional electronic structure on the transport behaviors for the electron gases at STO surfaces.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2014

Momentum space imaging of Cooper pairing in a half-Dirac-gas topological superconductor (a helical 2D topological superconductor)

Superconductivity in Dirac electrons has recently been proposed as a new platform between novel concepts in high-energy and condensed matter physics. It has been proposed that supersymmetry and exotic quasiparticles, both of which remain elusive in particle physics, may be realized as emergent particles in superconducting Dirac electron systems. Using artificially fabricated topological insulator-superconductor heterostructures, we present direct spectroscopic evidence for the existence of Cooper pairing in a half Dirac gas 2D topological superconductor. Our studies reveal that superconductivity in a helical Dirac gas is distinctly different from that of in an ordinary two-dimensional superconductor while considering the spin degrees of freedom of electrons. We further show that the pairing of Dirac electrons can be suppressed by time-reversal symmetry breaking impurities removing the distinction. Our demonstration and momentum-space imaging of Cooper pairing in a half Dirac gas and its magnetic behavior taken together serve as a critically important 2D topological superconductor platform for future testing of novel fundamental physics predictions such as emergent supersymmetry and quantum criticality in topological systems.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2014

Experimental demonstration of broadband Lorentz non-reciprocity in an integrable photonic architecture based on Mach-Zehnder modulators

We demonstrate the first active optical isolator and circulator implemented in a linear and reciprocal material platform using commercial Mach-Zehnder modulators. In a proof-of-principle experiment based on single-mode polarization-maintaining fibers, we achieve more than 12.5 dB isolation over an unprecedented 8.7 THz bandwidth at telecommunication wavelengths, with only 9.1 dB total insertion loss. Our architecture provides a practical answer to the challenge of non-reciprocal light routing in photonic integrated circuits.

physics.optics↗
arXiv2014

Spectropolarimetric Constraints on the Nature of Interstellar Grains

While it is well recognized that interstellar grains are made of amorphous silicates and some form of carbonaceous materials, it remains debated regarding what exact chemical and physical form the carbonaceous component takes. Contemporary grain models assume that the silicate and carbon components are either physically separated, or they form a core-mantle structure, or they agglomerate to form porous composites. The core-mantle model posits that the mantle is made of some sort of aliphatic hydrocarbon materials and is responsible for the 3.4 micrometer absorption feature ubiquitously seen in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) of the Milky Way and external galaxies. This model is challenged by the nondetection of polarization in the 3.4 micrometer absorption feature as the 9.7 micrometer silicate feature is observed to be polarized. To alleviate this challenge, we calculate the degree of polarization of the 3.4 micrometer feature for spheroidal silicate dust coated by a layer of spherical aliphatic hydrocarbon. It is found that the 3.4 micrometer feature polarization still exceeds the observational upper limit, even though spherical aliphatic hydrocarbon mantles are expected to cause much less polarization than nonspherical (e.g., spheroidal) mantles. We have also shown that the composite grain model which consists of amorphous silicate, aliphatic hydrocarbon, and vacuum also predicts the 3.4 micrometer feature polarization to well exceed what is observed. These results support the earlier arguments that the aliphatic hydrocarbon component is physically separated from the silicate component unless the 3.4 micrometer absorption feature is just a minor carbon sink in the ISM.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2014

Energy Gap Substructures in Conductance Measurements of MgB2-based Josephson Junctions: Beyond the 2-Gap Model

Several theoretical analyses of the two superconducting energy gaps of magnesium diboride, $Δ_π$ and $Δ_σ$, predict substructures within each energy gap, rather than two pure numbers. Recent experiments have revealed similar structures. We report tunneling conductance data providing additional experimental evidence for these features. The absence of these features in c-axis tunneling, and a sharp peak in the subgap (associated with the counterelectrode material), support the conclusion that these features are intrinsic to MgB2. By demonstrating the inadequacy of a simple two-gap model in fitting the data, we illustrate that some distinctions between theoretical models of energy gap substructures are experimentally accessible.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2014

Spatiotemporal Dissociation of Brain Activity underlying Subjective Awareness, Objective Performance and Confidence

Despite intense recent research, the neural correlates of conscious visual perception remain elusive. The most established paradigm for studying brain mechanisms underlying conscious perception is to keep the physical sensory inputs constant and identify brain activities that correlate with the changing content of conscious awareness. However, such a contrast based on conscious content alone would not only reveal brain activities directly contributing to conscious perception, but also include brain activities that precede or follow it. To address this issue, we devised a paradigm whereby we collected, trial-by-trial, measures of objective performance, subjective awareness, and the confidence level of subjective awareness. Using magnetoencephalography recordings in healthy human volunteers, we dissociated brain activities underlying these different cognitive phenomena. Our results provide strong evidence that widely distributed slow cortical potentials (SCPs) correlate with subjective awareness, even after the effects of objective performance and confidence were both removed. The SCP correlate of conscious perception manifests strongly in its waveform, phase, and power. In contrast, objective performance and confidence were both contributed by relatively transient brain activity. These results shed new light on the brain mechanisms of conscious, unconscious, and metacognitive processing.

q-bio.NC↗
arXiv2013

Knotted and linked products of recombination on $T(2,n)\#T(2,m)$ substrates

We develop a topological model of site-specific recombination that applies to substrates which are the connected sum of two torus links of the form $T(2,n)\#T(2,m)$. Then we use our model to prove that all knots and links that can be produced by site-specific recombination on such substrates are contained in one of two families, which we illustrate.

math.GT↗
arXiv2012

Experimental signatures of the quantum-classical transition in a nanomechanical oscillator modeled as a damped driven double-well problem

We demonstrate robust and reliable signatures for the transition from quantum to classical behavior in the position probability distribution of a damped double-well system using the Qunatum State Diffusion approach to open quantum systems. We argue that these signatures are within experimental reach, for example in a doubly-clamped nanomechanical beam.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2011

Ab initio energetics and kinetics study of H_2 and CH_4 in the SI Clathrate Hydrate

We present ab initio results at the density functional theory level for the energetics and kinetics of H_2 and CH_4 in the SI clathrate hydrate. Our results complement a recent article by some of the authors [G. Roman-Perez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 145901 (2010)] in that we show additional results of the energy landscape of H_2 and CH_4 in the various cages of the host material, as well as further results for energy barriers for all possible diffusion paths of H_2 and CH_4 through the water framework. We also report structural data of the low-pressure phase SI and the higher-pressure phases SII and SH.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2011

Fast k-means algorithm clustering

k-means has recently been recognized as one of the best algorithms for clustering unsupervised data. Since k-means depends mainly on distance calculation between all data points and the centers, the time cost will be high when the size of the dataset is large (for example more than 500millions of points). We propose a two stage algorithm to reduce the time cost of distance calculation for huge datasets. The first stage is a fast distance calculation using only a small portion of the data to produce the best possible location of the centers. The second stage is a slow distance calculation in which the initial centers used are taken from the first stage. The fast and slow stages represent the speed of the movement of the centers. In the slow stage, the whole dataset can be used to get the exact location of the centers. The time cost of the distance calculation for the fast stage is very low due to the small size of the training data chosen. The time cost of the distance calculation for the slow stage is also minimized due to small number of iterations. Different initial locations of the clusters have been used during the test of the proposed algorithms. For large datasets, experiments show that the 2-stage clustering method achieves better speed-up (1-9 times).

cs.DS↗
arXiv2009

Valley dependent many-body effects in 2D semiconductors

We calculate the valley degeneracy ($g_v$) dependence of the many-body renormalization of quasiparticle properties in multivalley 2D semiconductor structures due to the Coulomb interaction between the carriers. Quite unexpectedly, the $g_v$ dependence of many-body effects is nontrivial and non-generic, and depends qualitatively on the specific Fermi liquid property under consideration. While the interacting 2D compressibility manifests monotonically increasing many-body renormalization with increasing $g_v$, the 2D spin susceptibility exhibits an interesting non-monotonic $g_v$ dependence with the susceptibility increasing (decreasing) with $g_v$ for smaller (larger) values of $g_v$ with the renormalization effect peaking around $g_v\sim 1-2$. Our theoretical results provide a clear conceptual understanding of recent valley-dependent 2D susceptibility measurements in AlAs quantum wells.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2008

Fluctuation-induced first-order transition in $p $-wave superconductors

The problem of a fluctuation-induced first-order transition is considered for $p $-wave superconductors. Both an $ε$-expansion about $d=4$ and a large-$n$ expansion conclude that the transition for the physical case $n=6$ in $d=3$ is of first order, as in the s-wave case.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2008

Fully Band Resolved Scattering Rate in MgB2 Revealed by Nonlinear Hall Effect and Magnetoresistance Measurements

We have measured the normal state temperature dependence of the Hall effect and magnetoresistance in epitaxial MgB2 thin films with variable disorders characterized by the residual resistance ratio RRR ranging from 4.0 to 33.3. A strong nonlinearity of the Hall effect and magnetoresistance have been found in clean samples, and they decrease gradually with the increase of disorders or temperature. By fitting the data to the theoretical model based on the Boltzmann equation and ab initio calculations for a four-band system, for the first time, we derived the scattering rates of these four bands at different temperatures and magnitude of disorders. Our method provides a unique way to derive these important parameters in multiband systems.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2008

Scaling of Hall Resistivity in the Mixed State of MgB2 Films

The longitudinal resistivity (rho_{xx}) and transverse resistivity (rho_{xy}) of MgB2 thin films in the mixed state were studied in detail. We found that the temperature dependencies of rho_{xx} and ρ_{xy} at a fixed magnetic field (H) satisfy the scaling law of $ρ_{xy}=Aρ_{xx}^β$, where the exponent beta varies around 2.0 for different fields. In the low field region (below 1T), beta maintains a constant value of 2.0 due to the weak pinning strength of the vortices, mainly from the superfluid of the pi band. When H>1T, beta drops abruptly to its lowest value at about 2T because of the proliferation of quasiparticles from the pi-band and, hence, the motion of the vortices from the superfluid of the sigma-band dominates the dissipation. As the field is increased further, the vortex pinning strength is weakened and beta increases monotonically towards 2.0 at a high field. All the results presented here are in good agreement with the expectation of the vortex physics of a multi-band superconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2007

Skyrmion versus vortex flux lattices in p-wave superconductors

p-wave superconductors allow for topological defects known as skyrmions, in addition to the usual vortices that are possible in both s-wave and p-wave materials. In strongly type-II superconductors in a magnetic field, a skyrmion flux lattice yields a lower free energy than the Abrikosov flux lattice of vortices, and should thus be realized in p-wave superconductors. We analytically calculate the energy per skyrmion, which agrees very well with numerical results. From this, we obtain the magnetic induction B as a function of the external magnetic field H, and the elastic constants of the skyrmion lattice, near the lower critical field H_c1. Together with the Lindemann criterion, these results suffice to predict the melting curve of the skyrmion lattice. We find a striking difference in the melting curves of vortex lattices and skyrmion lattices: while the former is separated at all temperatures from the Meissner phase by a vortex liquid phase, the skyrmion lattice phase shares a direct boundary with the Meissner phase. That is, skyrmions lattices never melt near Hc1, while vortex lattices always melt sufficiently close to Hc1. This allows for a very simple test for the existence of a skyrmion lattice. Possible muSR experiments to detect skyrmion lattices are also discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2007

I-V characteristics of the vortex state in MgB2 thin films

The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of various MgB2 films have been studied at different magnetic fields parallel to c-axis. At fields \mu0H between 0 and 5T, vortex liquid-glass transitions were found in the I-V isotherms. Consistently, the I-V curves measured at different temperatures show a scaling behavior in the framework of quasi-two-dimension (quasi-2D) vortex glass theory. However, at \mu0 H >= 5T, a finite dissipation was observed down to the lowest temperature here, T=1.7K, and the I-V isotherms did not scale in terms of any known scaling law, of any dimensionality. We suggest that this may be caused by a mixture of σband vortices and πband quasiparticles. Interestingly, the I-V curves at zero magnetic field can still be scaled according to the quasi-2D vortex glass formalism, indicating an equivalent effect of self-field due to persistent current and applied magnetic field.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2007

Encapsulation, compensation, and substitution of catalyst particles during continuous growth of carbon nanotubes

By sequential feeding of catalyst materials, it is revealed that the active growth sites are at the bottom of the carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and that catalyst particles are constantly encapsulated into nanotubes from the bottom. This gives a better insight into the mechanism of CNT formation and on ways to control the growth process. CNTs encapsulated with different materials should enable the study of their electronic or magnetic properties, with potential applications as building blocks for nanoelectronics and as fillers in composites for electromagenetic shielding.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗